What is the current situation regarding the coronavirus in Russia?
As we all know too well by now, about a year ago a lot changed for the most of us. We were planning trips abroad, going to concerts and out for dinner with friends. What first looked like a local problem, soon turned into a pandemic the world had never seen before. Borders were closed, the government ordered everyone to stay at home and meeting with friends was made impossible. Every country seemed to handle the coronavirus in its own way.
For me, March last year was quite a stressful time as well, since I was in Saint Petersburg at the time learning Russian at Liden & Denz. When Russia decided to close its borders and cancel all flights from and to Russia, I had to make sure I got out of country because my visa was about to expire soon.
Therefore, most of this pandemic year I spent in the Netherlands. There, on October 14th 2020, Dutch authorities announced a partial nationwide lockdown, following government directives. All bars, restaurants, cafes, museums were closed. The have remained closed until this day (which is almost 5 months now!). If you are reading this in any country in Europe, I’m sure the situation is more or less the same.
So, what about in Russia? Let me tell you: the situation is the complete opposite. It was quite a shock for me to see that actually everything in Moscow and Saint Petersburg is working like before the pandemic! All bars, cafes, restaurants and even night clubs are open (haven’t been inside a nightclub in the Netherlands for over a year). All hair salons, beauty studios and tanning salons are working. There is no curfew, no restrictions on how many people you are allowed to invite in your house and no need to make a reservation anywhere.
You might start thinking that everything is just as it was before this whole pandemic started, but that is actually also not entirely true. There is some difference. The first big difference of course is that the borders are closed. Not everyone is allowed to travel to Russia, which is why on the street you see fewer foreigners than before. Only time will tell when the borders will be fully opened again. However, Russia is starting to open up its border with more and more countries. Whilst at the beginning of the pandemic, the borders were closed for almost everyone, nowadays more and more nationalities are welcomed back in to Russia.
Until that time, my advice would be to keep an eye on this link. The link is from the website of the International Air Transport Association and it is updated regularly for all countries in the world. Another difference is that in the streets you see more people wearing masks. And one final thing: when entering the gym for example they will measure your temperature. However, these minor inconveniences are absolutely doable if it means that you can go to the gym at all! Therefore, you should consider coming over. The Liden & Denz school will welcome you with open arms!